Israeli Home Prices Rose 346% in a Decade, Fastest in the World

Israeli home prices have risen 345.7 percent over the last decade, the highest increase in the world, according to new research by money.co.uk during a period when wages increased by 17.5% a

BY Realty Plus
Published - Monday, 30 Aug, 2021

Israeli Home Prices Rose 346% in a Decade, Fastest in the World

Israeli home prices have risen 345.7 percent over the last decade, the highest increase in the world, according to new research by money.co.uk during a period when wages increased by 17.5% and inflation rose by an average of only 0.92% per year. The study examined data for home prices per square meter as reported on numbeo, a site that specializes in such statistics. Combining data from homes in city centers and outside, the average price per meter was £1,553 (NIS 8,730) in 2010 and £6,920 (NIS 30,012) in 2020. Switzerland came in a distant second in the rankings, with a 165.5% increase over the decade. Next was Germany (162%), the United States (153.3%), and Hungary (137.8%). The UK came in tenth with a 74.9% rise in home prices. According to data from OECD. stat used in the report, Israel’s average annual salary has risen from NIS 137,443 in 2010 to NIS 161,534 in 2020. That level of wage growth surpassed that of most developed countries, the numbers indicate. During the same period, for example, salaries grew by 13.7% in the US, 0.6% in the UK, 14.2% in Germany and 2.8% in France. However, several emerging economies showed much faster growth, like Lithuania (61.1%), Estonia (39.7%) and Poland (31.8%). Israel’s average inflation rate, 0.92% per year, ranked among the lowest of the 30 countries surveyed for the report. Only Switzerland (-0.04%), Japan (0.42%), and Greece (0.5%) had lower inflation rates over the decade, based on World Bank data. The data regarding home prices is not a big surprise. Israel’s home costs are notoriously high and successive governments, including the one now in power, have made reigning in skyrocketing price levels one of their central economic goals. Economists say the main reason prices continue to rise is the high demand and the lack of supply in the housing market. The government has said it intends to add 300,000 new housing units in the coming five years, although how it intends to do so remains unclear.